Obaidul QuaderRuling Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader on Tuesday said that the prime minister sent a letter to Kamal Hossain inviting dialogue with an interest of continuation of the democratic trend, reports UNB.The dialogue will be held with the Awami League, not with the government, said Obaidul, also the road transport and bridges minister.”Awami League will finalise the list who will attend the dialogue after getting the list from Jatiya Oikya Front,” said Qauder while talking to reporters at the Secretariat.Earlier in the morning, prime minister Sheikh Hasina invited Jatiya Oikya Front to join the dialogue with her party at 7:00pm on Thursday at Ganobhaban.Responding to a question, the minister said the dialogue is not being arranged over any pressure.”We welcome them as they want to discuss their seven-point demand and 11 goals with us,” said Quader.The Election Commission will decide about accepting their demands and the court will decide on some other issues, he added.”There is no chance of any non-registered party to participate in the dialogue. We are not sitting with the BNP, but with Oikya Front and expecting all the problems will be solved on the dialogue table,” said the minister.As they mentioned their seven-point demand and 11 goals in the letter, so there is no chance of denying their demands, said Quader adding “The discussion will be held on the table.””This newly formed cabinet will be the election-time government and the election will be held under the election commission, not under the government,” he said.There is a possibility that the size of newly formed government will be same as the present one, he said adding, “New faces may be added or not.”read more

Share Nicolas Henderson/FlickrTexas State Capitol in Austin.More than two dozen new Texas state laws took effect with the first of the year.Top of the list is SB 5, the latest version of the Texas voter ID law. The law’s supporters argue it is necessary to combat voter fraud. A federal court has already ruled that SB 5 discriminates against minorities, as its opponents contend. The law is now awaiting review by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to determine whether lawmakers intended to discriminate.“If it’s the case that it’s believed that Texas did so on purpose, it may pull Texas back into a specific provision under the Voting Rights Act, which would require federal supervision when Texas changes any kind of election law,” says Brandon Rottinghaus, professor of political science at the University of Houston. “This process is what we call ‘preclearance.’”Another new law, SB 1381, aims to cut down on credit and debit card fraud by letting merchants ask for a photo ID. Al Pascual, Head of Fraud and Security at Javelin Strategy & Research, says the law would have been ideal about ten years ago.“So, it’s really only going to be for lost and stolen debit and credit cards,” says Pascual, noting that helps cut down on fraud against brick-and-mortar stores. “A lot of the fraud though unfortunately, now, because of EMV [chips] and just because criminals have gotten a lot better at it, has shifted online. So, instead of ripping off Walmart, they’re ripping off Walmart.com, and in that case you’re not going to check an ID.”While the law allows merchants to ask for a photo ID, it does not require them to do so.Several of the other new laws are targeted to specific industries or interest groups. SB 1383 increases the amount of milk a truck can transport from 80,000 lbs. to 90,000 lbs. SB 549 allows organizations that applied for a temporary bingo license from the Texas Lottery Commission to get a refund if they haven’t used it within a year of the date the license was issued.A complete list of Texas laws that took effect January 1, 2018 is available here. X 00:00 /01:09 Listen To embed this piece of audio in your site, please use this code:read more

Chandelis marching with Team Virginia at the Endo march on Capitol Hill. (Photos by Jonathan Hunter)Cassandra Nivens has experienced painful periods since age 14. To cope with being mostly incapacitated for some time each month, Nivens learned to manage what she believed were normal hormonal shifts, often scheduling time away from school and work around a 28-day cycle. It wasn’t until a routine ultrasound during her first pregnancy that her painful periods were diagnosed as endometriosis.Defined as a condition where tissue that normally grows inside the uterus grows outside of it, endometriosis impacts 176 million women. Each month as the lining of the uterus sheds and the blood and tissue is released, the same thing happens to the tissue outside the uterus. But with no way for the released tissues to leave the body, inflammation and scar tissue develop. While endometriosis affects White women 33 percent more often, deaths from undiagnosed endometrial cancer is roughly 80 percent higher among African-American women.“I was relieved to be able to put a name to what felt like some type of torture I endured every month, but was scared and concerned for the health of my baby. My system felt out of whack because of the pregnancy, and I was afraid that after my son was born, my hormones would go into high-gear, and it would be even more painful,” said Nivens, who found some relief in breastfeeding her healthy child.Once her cycle resumed, Nivens she sought treatment from a naturopath. After two years of progressive yoga (from BandhaKonasana poses to hot yoga), acupuncture, and change in diet, she and her husband were able to welcome a second son.According to research from the Mayo Clinic, Nivens is among the fortunate able to conceive with endometriosis, as an estimated 30-40 percent of infertile women have endometriosis. Because the disorder can only be definitely diagnosed through visual inspection inside of the pelvis and abdomen (as well as tissue biopsy of the implants), even ultrasounds can only hint at its presence.General symptoms of endometriosis include: extremely painful or disabling menstrual cramps; pain increasing in severity over time; chronic pelvic pain including lower back and pelvic pain; pain during or after sex; intestinal pain; painful bowel movements; or painful urination during menstrual periods.As more women become aware that endometriosis is more than just painful periods, the hope among physicians is that more women will note their symptoms and seek professional advice.The Howard University Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology recently served as local sponsors of the 2015 Worldwide EndoMarch for Endometriosis to raise awareness among African Americans. The second annual march took place at Upper Senate Park in Northwest, March 28, and simultaneously in more than 56 cities worldwide.Chandelis Duster, a Virginia precinct manager of the EndoMarch diagnosed six years ago with the condition, took part in the march to help raise awareness. “It has been a rough six years during which I have had three surgeries. Initially there was a big cyst on an ovary that needed to be drained and that was how they found endometriosis. No one had ever talked to me about it and as a freshman in college, it was scary to be told I had a disease with no cure,” Duster said.Following a laparoscopic surgery to remove the tissue, more endometriosis was found. “It’s been tough dealing with the pain constantly and everyday… a heating pad is [my] best friend. It has gotten better since the last surgery, but emotionally, it is a lot to deal with and it is a financial strain,” Duster said.Among African-American women, endometriosis is one of the most common indications for major gynecological surgery and hysterectomy.read more

Story Links She earned her bachelor’s degree in finance in May 2019 and carried a 4.0 cumulative GPA. The University of Louisville’s Celene Funke was selected to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-America® Division I first team. She becomes the first two-time Academic All-America selection in program history.Funke (Carmel, Ind.) takes home her second straight Academic All-America honors. She finished her junior season with a team-best 48 runs and stood second with a .324 batting average and 29 stolen bases. Additionally, the speedy centerfielder led the nation and holds Louisville’s single-season record with 13 triples. Funke was named a Google Cloud Academic All-District® All-America third team selection in 2018. The 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-America® Division I Softball Teams feature 21 members with a 4.0 GPA and 31 members with at least a 3.90 GPA as either undergraduate or graduate student-athletes. The 12 members on the first team have an average GPA of 3.99. Print Friendly Versionread more

Alipurduar/Kolkata: An estimated 83.79 per cent of 34.52 lakh voters exercised their franchise in Cooch Behar and Alipurduar Lok Sabha constituencies in the first phase of polls in the state, an election department official said Friday. In Cooch Behar (SC), 83.88 per cent electorate cast their votes till 6 pm Thursday, while Alipurduar (ST) seat registered 83.70 per cent polling, he said. No incident of violence was reported from any part of the two constituencies and the first-phase of the seven-phase election in the state was largely “peaceful”, he said. Also Read – Rs 13,000 crore investment to provide 2 lakh jobs: Mamata The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) as well as the opposition BJP and the Congress, however, complained that polling was not undertaken in a free and fair manner in the two parliamentary seats. TMC leader and North Bengal Development Minister Rabindranath Ghosh alleged that EVMs malfunctioned in several booths and it could be part of the opposition’s conspiracy to manipulate votes. A presiding officer at Sitalkuchi area of Cooch Behar constituency has been showcased following complaints that he allowed some unidentified persons inside the booth, the election department official stated. Also Read – Lightning kills 8, injures 16 in state Asked about parties seeking re-poll in several polling stations in Cooch Behar constituency, he said the department is reviewing the reports of the presiding officers and a decision will be taken soon. With the conclusion of the first phase, the fate of 18 candidates in the two seats has been sealed in the Electronic Voting Machines. The ruling TMC and the BJP are the main contenders in the two north Bengal seats, while Left Front constituents – the Forward Bloc and the RSP – and the Congress are fighting to prove their existence. Polling in the remaining 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held in six more phases.read more

New Delhi: Newly-elected Trinamool Congress actor-turned-politicians Nusrat Jahan Ruhi and Mimi Chakraborty on Tuesday took oath in Bangla as members of the 17th Lok Sabha. The two could not take oath earlier as Nusrat Jahan recently got married to businessman Nikhil Jain in Turkey and Mimi Chakraborty was attending the wedding ceremony. Nusrat Jahan came to Parliament with a bunch of wedding bangles, in a white and purple saree and had henna based designs on her hands. Mimi also wore an ethnic Indian dress. After taking oath, Nusrat Jehan reportedly said that there were several things on her priority and she will raise the concerns of her voters in the House on Wednesday. Nusrat Jahan was elected from Basirhat and Mimi Chakraborty from Jadhavpur in West Bengal. The two took oath in Bangla and ended it with words like ‘Vande Mataram’, ‘Jai Hind’ and ‘Jai Bangla’.read more

Cross-border criminals were suspected of being behind the raids before fleeing back across the border into the North.Now, an increase in random Garda checkpoints has resulted in a dramatic decrease in such crimes.A Garda source said that while the issue of burglaries continues to be a threat to the local community, statistics show that such crimes have dropped significantly.“There is no question that the level of such crime has decreased significantly. We are not shouting about it from the rooftops, however.“A number of months ago we did encounter a higher-than-normal level of crime along the border which we suspected were carried out by a cross-border element.“A plan was put in place which saw a visible presence of Gardai along the border at unscheduled times.“This will continue to ensure that the level of crime in these areas continues to drop,” said the source.ARMED GARDA CHECKPOINTS HELPING TO TACKLE CRIME WAVE AT HOTSPOTS ALONG DERRY/DONEGAL BORDER was last modified: June 14th, 2017 by John2John2 Tags: AN GARDA SIOCHANAARMED GARDA CHECKPOINTS HELPING TO TACKLE CRIME WAVE AT HOTSPOTS ALONG DERRY/DONEGAL BORDERbridgendcastlefinDERRY.TYRONElifford The checkpoints have been manned by uniformed Gardai supported by armed colleagues from the detective unit.The checkpoints, which have been set up in several villages including Lifford, Carrigans and Castlefin, have coincided with a drop in the level of burglaries and armed robberies.Earlier this year a spate of robberies took place on several villages including St Johnston, Lifford and Raphoe.As well as break-ins to private houses, local business premises including takeaways were targeted by the raiders. ShareTweet GARDA blitzes along the Donegal/Derry border has seen a dramatic reduction in the level of crime.A number of visible checkpoints operated by Gardai have been set up along the border with Derry in recent weeks.Last Sunday lunchtime, Gardai were stopping cars at the roundabout in Bridgend, just inside the border with Derry.read more